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A man like the one that married dear old mom: nostalgia and masculinity crisis in late 20th century American culture

A MAN LIKE THE ONE THAT MARRIED DEAR OLD MOM:
NOSTALGIA AND MASCULINITY CRISIS IN LATE 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN
CULTURE
by
John Marshall Kephart III
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(COMMUNICATION)
December 2008
Copyright 2008 John Marshall Kephart III

Over the course of the history of the United States, masculinity has been continually situated as in peril; from the 18th century to the present, cultural discourses of masculinity crisis arise every few years to proclaim that men have lost their way, and that something needs to be done to bring back "real" American men. This dissertation examines the cultural narratives of masculinity in crisis that arose in late 20th century America, from 1990-2005. In particular, it uses a dramatistic and feminist cultural studies approach to trace two seemingly opposite phenomena: The Christian evangelical men's movement the Promise Keepers and masculine popular culture, specifically Maxim Magazine and The Man Show. While initially appearing to be widely divergent, both cultural artifacts make recourse to a discourse of nostalgic masculinity to explain, resolve, and commodify masculinity crisis. Though changing economic, social and cultural conditions are said to put all men "in crisis", this discourse of nostalgic masculinity is actually about white, straight, middle-class men. The use of crisis functions as a rhetorical strategy that works to erase the structural privilege enjoyed by those at the social center. In particular, through appropriating feminine forms of knowledge and strategies mobilized against heteronormative patriarchy, nostalgic masculinity works to contain feminism and identity politics through identifying an aggressive feminine culture as the cause of male anguish, and reframing masculinity to render such unruly Otherness as unnecessary to the successful performance of masculinity. In this way, nostalgic masculinity and discourses of masculinity crisis adopt a rhetoric of victimhood and position those at the social center as under attack and in need of redemption. Further, the anxiety produced by changing cultural conditions is commodified in the service of market expansion.; Using nostalgia as a representational trope, masculinity is turned into a product to be sold back to the men said to be in crisis. This process is not imposed on the men in the target audience; rather, it is a process which is "good for thinking" as men work to make sense of their masculine identity in a postmodern media context characterized by uncertain and shifting gender roles.

A MAN LIKE THE ONE THAT MARRIED DEAR OLD MOM:
NOSTALGIA AND MASCULINITY CRISIS IN LATE 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN
CULTURE
by
John Marshall Kephart III
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(COMMUNICATION)
December 2008
Copyright 2008 John Marshall Kephart III